Wooden tile and a method of making the same

Abstract

A wooden tile which is preferably used for floor covering is formed by a number of individual members which are bonded together. The wooden tile is made by knife cutting a sheet of wood from a substantially stressless piece of timber and then cutting the individual members from the wooden sheet. Adhesive such as ureaformaldehyde is applied to the edges of the members to bond them together. Alternatively, the individual members are adhesively bonded onto a mesh and some adhesive seeps between the edges of the members. The tile so formed is flexible, durable and economic to manufacture.

I claim: 
     
       1. A method of making a flexible wooden tile consisting essentially of the steps of subjecting a piece of timber to a stress relieving process to relieve stresses in the timber, knife cutting a stress relieved sheet of wood of a predetermined thickness from the piece of timber, cutting the sheet of wood into a plurality of members each having substantially parallel major planar surfaces and peripheral edge surfaces, positioning a plurality of said members into a single layer tile with an edge surface of one member substantially abutting an edge surface of another member so that said major planar surfaces of said members lie substantially in a single plane, and bonding said members together by means of an adhesive applied to the peripheral edge surfaces before said members are assembled to produce a flexible wooden tile in which said wooden members are flexible and the adhesive bonds between said members are rigid. 
     
     
       2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the knife cutting of the sheet of wood from the piece of timber is effected using a rotary lathe. 
     
     
       3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the knife cutting of the sheet of wood from the piece of timber is effected using a slicing machine. 
     
     
       4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein stress relieving of the timber is effected by boiling said timber, cooling the timber to ambient temperature and then boiling the timber again. 
     
     
       5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the members cut from the sheet of wood are in the form of elongated rectangular finger elements. 
     
     
       6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the plurality of finger elements are positioned side by side to form a block and a plurality of such blocks are positioned side by side to form the tile. 
     
     
       7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the members and blocks together define a square tile. 
     
     
       8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a self-adhesive is applied to the undersurface of the tile. 
     
     
       9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the self-adhesive is a double sided self-adhesive tape applied to the undersurface of the tile. 
     
     
       10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of members are positioned into a single layer in a jig. 
     
     
       11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the members are positioned in the jig on a heat conductive sheet. 
     
     
       12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the members are bonded together upon curing of the adhesive in a press. 
     
     
       13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the press is a hot press. 
     
     
       14. A method a claimed in claim 12, wherein in the press is a cold press. 
     
     
       15. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the press applies an initial pressure of less than 5 tons/ft 2  and subsequently applies an increased pressure of about 10 tons/ft 2 . 
     
     
       16. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tile is sanded to a thickness of approximately 2.5 mm. 
     
     
       17. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tile is sanded to present a central region which is thicker than the side regions by about 0.05 mm. 
     
     
       18. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wooden tile is formed of wood selected from teak, oak and rare wood species. 
     
     
       19. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive is ureaformaldehyde. 
     
     
       20. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible wooden tile produced is impregnated with a preserving material. 
     
     
       21. A method of making a flexible wooden tile consisting essentially of the steps of subjecting a piece of timber to a stress relieving process, knife cutting a stress relieved sheet of wood of a predetermined thickness from the piece of timber, cutting the sheet of wood into a plurality of members each having substantially parallel major planar surfaces and peripheral edge surfaces, applying a rigid setting adhesive to said side edge surfaces of the members, positioning a plurality of said members into a single layer tile with a side edge surface of one member substantially abutting a side edge surface of another member so that the adhesive is disposed between the side edge surfaces and the major planar surfaces lie substantially in a single plane, and allowing the adhesive to set to bond said members together, whereby a flexible wooden tile is produced in which the wooden members are flexible and the adhesive bonds between said members are rigid. 
     
     
       22. A flexible wooden tile consisting essentially of a plurality of stress relieved members each having substantially parallel major planar surfaces and peripheral edge surfaces and each being obtained from a sheet of wood that is knife cut from a piece of timber which has been subjected to a stress relieving process, said members being adhesively bonded together by adhesive between the peripheral edge surfaces in a single layer with an edge surface of one member substantially abutting an edge surface of another member and with the major planar surfaces lying in common planes to form a flexible wooden tile in which said wooden members are flexible and the bonds between the members are rigid. 
     
     
       23. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the members are in the form of elongated rectangular elements. 
     
     
       24. A tile as claimed in claim 23, wherein the plurality of elements are positioned side by side to form a block and a plurality of such blocks are positioned side by side to form the tile. 
     
     
       25. A tile as claimed in claim 24, wherein the members and blocks together define a square tile. 
     
     
       26. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein a self-adhesive is applied to the undersurface of the tile. 
     
     
       27. A tile as claimed in claim 26, wherein the self-adhesive is a double sided self-adhesive tape having a first surface applied to the undersurface of the tile and an exposed surface directed away therefrom. 
     
     
       28. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein a removable protective covering extends over the exposed surface of the self-adhesive tape. 
     
     
       29. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the tile is sanded to a thickness of approximately 2.5 mm. 
     
     
       30. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the tile is sanded to present a central region which is thicker than the side regions by about 0.05 mm. 
     
     
       31. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the wooden tile is formed of wood selected from teak, oak and rare wood surfaces. 
     
     
       32. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the adhesive is ureaformaldehyde. 
     
     
       33. A tile as claimed in claim 22, wherein the flexible wooden tile produced is impregnated with a preserving material.